While working with Pressure Treated Lumber last week I received a couple small slivers. . A few days later I was reminded of the small slivers as the areas started to swell. I have had small slivers in my hands many times but I have never seen my body react in this way.
My question is has anyone else found PT causing this reaction. I must still have a small piece in my thumb I can’t remove ,as it, is still inflamed. Any suggestion as to how to remove this small sliver. I have tried bathing it in hot salt and water, I would hope there may be something to bath it in that would draw the sliver out.
Thank you in advace for any help.
George
Replies
Good ol fashioned Black Salve...will fix ya right up.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Why look here?
Right stuff, I think. It's a drawing ointment called Icthamol ( sp?)
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
fresh blade in the utility knife. Band-aids/electrical/duct tape as needed.
"fresh blade in the utility knife"With an assist from some tweezers.I'm a wimp, I pour alcohol over the tools first.Rich BeckmanAnother day, another tool.
Yer s'posed to drink the alcohol, not waste it on the tools.
And you've gotta leave some germs around to give yer immune system something to do.
Quote Frank Zappa: Lemme sterilize it, gimme your lighter.I'm thankful for the loyal opposition! It's hard to learn much from those who simply agree with you.
I try to be helpful without being encouraging.
Do you suppose I could interest you in a pair of zircon-encrusted tweezers?
Oohhh,
Every other wrangler would say that I was "Mighty Grand"!"But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.... and just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way."
Pressure treated splinters seem to be more painful to me. I suspect the chemical is irritating.
If you are reacting differently than you usually do you should see a doctor, not try to diagnose yourself.
If you can't get it out the old fashioned way, go straight to a doctor. We have had numerous instances of serious infection, one of which got all the way to the feared "red lines going up the arm." That's a midnight Emergency Room trip instead of a $10 trip during the day to the Doc. It turned out to be extremely dangerous, required a mandatory overnight in the hospital followed by many days of pain while the skin infection was treated with massive antibiotics. The skin sloughed off the finger a week later, too. As experts of years of getting stuff stuck in fingers and eyes during demo and construction, do whatever you have to to get it out!
Kitto-
The thought of that scares the beejeebees out of me.
by the way, Welcome to Breaktime.
be beejeebeed
sobriety is the root cause of dementia.
so was this the "new and improved and safe" p.t.
this new pt is a headache. I wonder which loby group pushed this one on us.
Probably the same one that voted to protect banks from people going bankrupt but can't seem to do anything about the insane ATM fees banks charge consumers.
You've got the wrong bank. None of the five banks I've banked with have charged ATM fees since ATMs first came out around 1975. I don't have enough money to throw it away on fees and charges.
I believe it was a lobby group that noticed that their children who played fequently around the old arsinic treated PT had a tendency to get sick and stupid. The copper IS a pain in the ####, but doesn't leach poison into your well.
Eye'v belt lot of thangs wid CCA & it had not hert me none
It's probably not an infection, but rather an inflammatory reaction.
In terms of removing splinters, it's pretty much surgery no matter how you do it. I usually leave them be for a few days, then work them out with a pin or Exacto knife. Tweezers can hardly ever grab them unless you dig around first.
Get a pair of surgical forceps (tweezers)and a magnifying glass, the forceps' points are so small and thin you can follow the route of the smallest splinter with minimal damage (and pain). I keep a pair in my truck all of the time.
Yes. Some of us are a whole lot more sensitive or reactive to the chemicals ( remember these are the "safe" ones demanded by the enviro-wacko lobby) used now than to the inert ones used before.
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
I want the "dangerous" stuff back. All I can buy in CCA now is 6x6 or bigger.I'm thankful for the loyal opposition! It's hard to learn much from those who simply agree with you.
I try to be helpful without being encouraging.
I remember similar problems that people posted 2-4 years ago (CCA) with "infected splinters".
I've had 'em, but I never thought of them as anything but one more scratch or leak that'd take care of itself.
I mostly prefer the CCA because of it's proven longevity and it's lack of fastener problems.I'm thankful for the loyal opposition! It's hard to learn much from those who simply agree with you.
I try to be helpful without being encouraging.
In that the agents in PT lumber are non-biological (even though they are called 'organic' poisons, remember that petroleum is in this same class), it is unlikely they are causing a microbial infection. They are entirely capable of causing topical reactive inflammation, however. And of course, the splinter may very well have introduced pathogens into your hand that have nothing to do with the PT agents. Like, where has that board been sitting? In a lumber yard in the dirt...?
To get rid of this splinter, you will have to perform a bit of minor surgery on yourself. The basic rules are:
1. Minimum necessary tissue invasion--don't debride the wound any more--or less!--than necessary. A sharp exacto knife makes a good home-doctoring scalpel. There are special tweezers made (mentioned by another poster) with needle-fine points. Try a good drug store to purchase a pair of these. You will also need a good bright light, and a pair of magnifying specs or a big, stand-mounted loupe.
2. Effective wound cleaning--make sure you get everything out of the wound, let it bleed freely for a bit, and irrigate it with hydrogen peroxide or clean water.
3. Post-op infection control--as this is a localised penetration, post-surgical topical treatment with an oinment such as Bacitracin should be sufficient (meaning you shouldn't need systemic anti-biotics)...but it must be maintained for long enough for the body to close the wound and prevent any new infectious agent from entering. This means change the dressing every 12-24 hours for the first 3-7 days, depending on wound size and healing rate.
>>>>NOTE: If any sign of infection (hardness, heat, swelling, redness, or tenderness at the wound site) develops or re-develops in the wound after surgery, you may need systemic anti-biotics. You will need to see a doc for this, and delaying that decision is not a good idea.
If you have to do so much cutting on yourself that the pain is making you flinch, you will need outside help. Theoretically, you could immerse your hand in ice water until it goes numb, but if you need to anæsthetize yourself, you probably ought to go see a doc.
Finally, that comment about the alcohol being to drink is actually not that far off the mark--but don't drink alcohol until after the surgery. Alcohol is a vaso-dilator, which means it will open up your vessels and capillaries and promote blood flow to the extremeties. Increased blood flow to a superficial wound like yours should help promote healing. Just don't get carried away. Vaso-dilators lower your blood pressure.
Dinosaur
'Y-a-tu de la justice dans ce maudit monde?
lThank you
Great help
George
Rite Aide has tins of "drawing ointment" ... that work for pretty much everything else.
I prefer PT splinters over untreated lumber ... swells up nice and fat to let ya know there's still some left in there.
I agree with the diy surgery approach.
Nice fresh blade in the utility knife .... pull the skin till U can see the splinter .... and dive in deep. Best if U can hit the blade right on the splinter itself ...
then ... carve away.
there's no "backing out" one of them. Gotta open her up all the way.
If I used alchol before each cut ... I'd be drunk all day!
I'm pretty sure they think ahead and that oil they coat on new blades is antiseptic .... ok .. I just made that up ... but if it makes U feel better .... it's the truth?
anyways ... cut deep ... dig it out .... spit on it when yer done.
I like to pack any job site wounds with saw dust and sweat and the like the like to keep them clean. If I ever died from an infected splinter wound ... I had bigger problems then just the splinter?
and try not to bleed on finish materials if U miss and go too deep.
Jeff
Just one note; although it's exceedingly rare and it SHOULDN'T happen with a new blade; do make sure that your tetanus immunization is up to date; lockjaw is an exceedingly unpleasant experience.
NotaClue (except on this issue, where I have a bit of a clue)
I'll used a phrase I read in another thread ...
safety third!
there was a time in my life when I was at the hospital for stitches about twice a year for 3 or 4 years .... got tetanus shots each and every time ... figured with all those floating around my body ... I'm good for ... 3 ... maybe 400 more years?
Urine's sterile .... U could always pee on your knife?
Learned that from an episode of MASH!
Jeff
Ah sadly, but no. Actually, last that I checked, the body's immune system "forgets" some of its immunities over time. That was the flurry of craziness two years ago, when the Centers for Disease Control was trying to figure out if everyone who once upon a time had gotten a small pox vaccination would still be immune if some crazy with a biolab cooked some and let it go; and the answer? Last I checked, they weren't sure (if childhood immunizations would cover an adult).
NotaClue
I have a customer that can tell you all you ever need to know about treated wood splinters, he learned the hard way. You can't miss him , he's the guy with 9 toes.
Last I checked, they weren't sure
Which was under-helpful at the time, and not much better today.
As youth who moved around a lot (every 26 months, typically), I went through a lot of schools. All they ever needed to see was the white "bullseye" of the jenner vaccination site, and all was good. That 'classic' method eradicated smallpox "in the wild." Which is why they stopped juvenile vaccination as a matter of course. Go figgur.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
Contact my mother. When we were young and nobody in the country had medical insurance, she'd sit me down, tell me to look elsewhere, and dig the thing out with a needle. Maybe it hurt a while, but not later. The iodine wasn't that cool, though.
Had a PT sliver in my palm a few months ago that got infected. I went to the Web and read all this advice designed to increase national health costs and just decided to sit down, clean it with alcohol, and do my mother's trick. Just couldn't look away, is all. No problem afterward, and it wasn't that painful, probably because the nerves weren't that sensitive in my palm. DW couldn't have done it -- would have driven me to the hospital. But, I wouldn't have cared for that, even with my good health insurance.
Too bad that what was once a home shaved scalp and a butterfly bandage is now an ER trip.
i have had a bad experience with pt plywood,
after my first day cutting it i remembered my industrial first aid course that said we as workers are legally allowed to ask for the msds sheet on any material we may question...it turns out the pt wood is treated with chromium, arsenic and copper all of which can harm the nervous system if inhaled or taken throught the skin...my reaction was enough to say no more...i refuse to work with the stuff in all my contracts....cut it out and disinfect with hydrogen peroxide, tea tree oil, eucalyptus oil, lavender oil etc....finish off any germs with golden seal powder or if you are in the pacific nw you can respectfully dig up a oregon grape root and use it...michael
i have had a bad experience with pt plywood,
after my first day cutting it i remembered my industrial first aid course that said we as workers are legally allowed to ask for the msds sheet on any material we may question...it turns out the pt wood is treated with chromium, arsenic and copper all of which can harm the nervous system if inhaled or taken throught the skin...my reaction was enough to say no more...i refuse to work with the stuff in all my contracts....cut it out and disinfect with hydrogen peroxide, tea tree oil, eucalyptus oil, lavender oil etc....finish off any germs with golden seal powder or if you are in the pacific nw you can respectfully dig up a oregon grape root and use it...michael
Greetings Morticemike, Welcome to Breaktime.
Do you remove the chemical laden plastic cellophane off your leftovers from the fridge when you nuke them in the microwave?
sobriety is the root cause of dementia.
thanks for the warm microwaved welcome :)
i threw my microwave out the third floor window of my dorm in my second year of college...
Sounds like you should amputate.;-)
It's irritating to me. If I'm cutting it, and sawdust gets on my arms, the area become red and irritated. Very annoying and bothersome.
OH, if all else fails.
Do the dishes...works for me.
A good deed never goes un..sumpthing.."what splinter"?
Actually, it's Polmolive..yer soaking in it.
Or a BJ, take yer pick, they both work.
LMAO.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
These are the days of miracles and wonders, this is a long distance call...........
Why look here?
Some people have sensitive skin, and will react to even plain pine sawdust. This is made worse if you're sweaty.A few months ago I got a really bad rash from plain wood glue. Didn't actually get it on me, but was in a confined area with lots of the fumes and was pretty sweaty.
Ive had plenty of splinters over the past 30 years and ive dealt with them all myself with the exception of one. This past tues. morning at 9am i got a splinter from a PT 2x6, really didnt think too much of it , it was fairly large but ive had them before. At 9pm that night I was in the ER with a red line traveling up my forearm. The ER Doc removed the splinter and admitted me to the hospital. After 6 rounds of IV antibiotics and a hand surgeon going in to clean out the wound i got out that friday morning, 3 nights in the hospital for a splinter. This stuff is nasty BE CAREFULL!. Dont under estimate the power of a PT splinter.
I ain' no doctor but.....
I doubt it was the PT poisons that got you but some infective micro organism already on your skin or the splinter.
Any good sized wound or deep one can still clock you out in these modern days with just ol' timey pathogens.
No doubt I could be wrong.......
I would speculate that the PT chemicals may cause inflammation that can allow an infection to take hold/